In the latest round of a long-running legal wrangle described by the press as “Britain’s biggest-ever divorce battle,” a Russian oligarch has been ordered to hand over a £350 million superyacht to his wife by the High Court.

Billionaire businessman Mr Farkad Akhmedov married Ms Tatiana Akhmedova in 1989, later moving to London with her in 1993.

Over the course of their relationship, the duo had two sons together before later separating and finding themselves at loggerheads over their shared assets.

Back in 2016, Ms Akhmedova was awarded an eye-watering £453 million for making “equal contributions to the welfare of the family” over the years.

The media was keen to note that the sum represented the largest divorce settlement in British legal history, despite making up less than half of Mr Akhmedov’s estimated 1.3 billion fortune.

However, the couple remained at loggerheads after Ms Akhmedova accused her wealthy husband of failing to hand over the money – and later sought an order preventing the oligarch from concealing his assets.

Examining the case in the High Court, Judge Charles Haddon-Cave found that Mr Akhmedov had tried to ‘hide’ his ownership of a 377-foot superyacht known as the Luna – the second-largest expedition yacht in the world.

The Court heard that the wealthy businessman had sold Luna to a suspicious offshore company based in Panama back in December 2014 in a bid to keep the asset out of his wife’s reach.

The yacht was later recovered and impounded in a dry dock in Dubai, the Court was told.

Justice Haddon-Cave subsequently ruled that Mr Akhemdov must hand over the £350 million vessel – which was once the property of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich – to Ms Akhmedova.

The earlier £453 million settlement was also upheld.

MFG Solicitors’ family team advise on divorce, separation and all other aspects of family law, including cohabitation. For more information about how we could help you, please contact us.